Wednesday, November 09, 2011

It's November and many - make that lots - of stores are heavy into Christmas decorations in spite of just coming out of Halloween. Actually, statistically, Halloween is big business when it comes to decorations and related items. But I digress.

Some people enjoy the holiday season and welcome the numerous appearances of mall Santas, plastic Christmas trees ("oh Eleanor - you're so cynical!") of many colors and the playing of the Little Drummer Boy over and over... But I digress. Again.

Then there are others who want to update Christmas and modernize the selection of musical offerings. Such is the case of Galerie Lafayette, a department store located in Paris, France, who recently made the decision to eliminate your Christmas carols with - wait for it - rock and roll. As they have done in seasons past, the store is once again putting on shows leading up to the big day but is seeking a means in which to attract and presumably entice a younger generation to their offerings and merchandise.

To this end, they are using rock legend Iggy Pop to pose for photo fliers dressed in a red Santa hat (does Santa know, one wonders), matching shoes and a custumary, electric guitar. In addition, a window show will include performances by a variety of major-label rock and folk bands. A change from the past is the replacement of cute, furry creatures and puppets in favor of life-size mannequins dressed in black leather, and rag dolls dressed in fashionable duds. This leads one to ask what they will do with your usual Christmas icons like snowmen, most likely relegated to a box in a warehouse, somewhere, never to see the light of day along with older puppets... But I digress. Again.

The bottom line, as expected, is the reason for the change with French household spending dropping 1.3% in September with spending on clothing falling by 7.3%. It will be interesting to see the reaction of French shoppers to the change. As a rule, people like to retain Christmas traditions and somehow Iggy Pop, with all due respect, isn't Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas" or "Petit Papa Noel" or "Mon Beau Sapin." Perhaps a combination of both the old and new?